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REAL PROGRESSWhat would real progress look like? Would it involve throwing bombs at one another (killing innocent people willy-nilly)? Pumping increasing amounts of pollution into the air and the oceans? Cutting down rainforests at a faster and faster rate? Watching people starve in some countries while we grow fatter and even more toad-like? I don't think so. There are hopeful signs of real progress!More people throughout the world are governing themselves through participative democracies than ever before. The use of alternative energy sources (wind, solar, tides) is growing at impressive rates around the world. (see www.solarbuzz.com) And people are making a real difference by getting organised! >>>>.....<<<<<......>>>>> See GrassShoots, a manuscript written by Robert Theobald, Caspar Davis and moi. For a look at what a wisdom-based society might look like, read my article "The Great Unlearning" Self-organising groups -- a sign of hope!One of the most hopeful sign is the resurgence of interest & involvement in self-organising groups... individuals coming together to make a positive difference. Here's an account of a group that I became involved with a few years ago... The Group With No Name: an Emerging Dynamic?by George Sranko Written a few months after a group of concerned individuals began gathering to try and change the world… together. In Victoria we are witnessing and experiencing the emergence of a group of people from many walks of life drawn together primarily out of a deep concern for humanity and all life on earth. A similar pattern of self-organizing groups is emerging throughout the world. It would appear, that given our newly emerged global consciousness, we are not only participants but actual witnesses to a natural phenomenon sweeping through our own species. Brings a whole new understanding to the notion of a front row seat! Here in Victoria we ponder "where is our group headed?" None can say exactly. However, some would say we have nowhere to go because we have already arrived. Others throw up their hands in despair wishing they could only get the group to DO something! Others toss out the questions; Can there be light without dark? Can there be action through inaction? It would be fruitful, I believe, to observe the processes and interactions at work within our group as one example of this newly-emerging global group consciousness. Individuals in the Victoria group appear to have implicitly agreed, in my mind, to a fundamental "way" of interacting... a shared set of personal values and guiding principles, if you will. SHARED PRINCIPLES I can only speak personally, yet at the same time hope that these principles "speak" to other members of the group. We appear to share:
There are many more shared principles of course; however, for now, perhaps these give us a base for understanding the process we are witnessing and a deeper appreciation for the beauty we behold - like the unfolding of a rose - as we try to comprehend what's happening. FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDINGS When we look at the big picture -- the really, really big picture - what's happening? Here are some statements to consider:
The "reality" is that both statements are correct. In order to make sense of the world we humans have a set of sensors that enable us to "tune-in" to the opposites and distinguish between them. This is the world of duality, of separation; me-you, us-them, black-white. I think most of us would agree that we humans are at a stage in our evolution where greater and greater numbers of us are developing the sensory equipment to tune into a "new" reality - that the universe is one and, at the same time, made up of opposites. This is where the mystics have been for centuries. This is where current scientific thinking has taken us. And this is where humanity is arriving en mass. An entirely new level of communication and organizational ability is therefore necessary to integrate this "oneness" into our language and our social systems. BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION The evolutionary process, be it in the life of one cell or a complex group, can be described as follows:
At each step as the system or holon* (each system is both a whole and a part) becomes more complex there's greater possibility of the process breaking down. With a single cell, for example, the cell begins as one, then it divides, and the new cells become integrated to form an entirely new being. With a complex organism we can see cancer developing in some of the cells. Not all is smooth! Socially we see the same happening; with children differentiating to become unique personalities and then integrating to form families, an entirely new holon. And we can see many family units breaking down. Ken Wilber describes this brilliantly in his book "Sex, Ecology, Spirituality:" "..the fact that evolution always produces greater transcendence and greater differentiation means that a factor of possible pathology is built into every evolutionary step, because transcendence can go too far and become repression - the higher does not negate and preserve the lower, it tries only to negate (or repress or deny) the lower, which works about as well as denying our feet." "Likewise, differentiation can go too far and become dissociation – a failure to adequately integrate the newly emergent differences into a coherent whole that is both internally cohesive and externally in harmony with other correlative holons and with all junior components. Whenever a new differentiation is not matched by a new and equal integration, whenever there is negation without preservation, the result is pathology of one sort or another, a pathology that, if severe enough, evolution sets about to erase in earnest.” If the entire group had been "forced" into action by a few individuals it would likely have broken apart as those who weren't interested dropped away. Likewise, if the group had continued to meet without any sense of purpose or common ground it would likely have fizzled-out after two or three meetings. However, at the moment, the group appears to be thriving and people are excited about being part of it. Individuals are completely free to join or not to join and free to take action as they personally see fit or not to take action. This free-flowing, completely accepting nature of the group is what makes it unique in the experience of most participants. SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT Individuals find the group energizing, inspiring and a place of comfort and relative safety - some have referred to it as refuge. Another image I find useful is cold-frame or green-house; the tender young shoots protected from the brunt of the elements while being nurtured by the rich, dark potting soil. Once the young sprouts are strong enough they're ready to go out into the world to face much greater challenges, such as slugs and big winds. Likewise, we can view the large group as a greenhouse with high-nutrient soil and plenty of the sun's energy and warmth to keep us going between windstorms. Perhaps the small groups are where we face the buffeting of the winds and sharp teeth of the rodents! HARMONY This brings me to what I believe is the most effective stance for an individual or group to take - dynamic harmony with the inner and outer forces at play. I draw most of the following from my personal experience with Aikido, the human energy system, and regular meditative practice. Some fundamental dynamics of biological systems and their interactions:
At the human level, this translates into one fundamental guiding principle: The more we can tune-in and become clear instruments of the life force the more our thoughts and actions are in harmony with the universe. It's not so much WHERE we're headed that's important, it's who we ARE and who we become on the journey. WE ARE THE PATH We are being called upon to integrate body, mind and spirit as individuals and as groups in wholly unprecedented ways. This calls for each of us to come from a place of deep respect and compassion for one another as well as ourselves while we integrate the old forms and transcend to the new. What we cannot afford to do is continue with the old forms that have some of the following characteristics:
Since we cannot "see" every step of the way
to the destination before us we have to proceed with the understanding that
"how we are in the world" will determine where the path takes us.
We have become the path. If
each and every person comes from a place of integrity, compassion and deep
respect for others the very fabric of human society will fundamentally change. This is the challenge I would submit to our group: If we stay the course and continue to operate from a place of integrity, compassion and deep respect for one another we will transform our experience of the world and the world cannot help but keep pace. ### * Ken Wilber defines holons as follows (One Taste; The
Journals of Ken Wilber, 1999, p. 90): Copyright © 1999-2002 George Sranko. All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced and distributed for
non-commercial purposes, as long as the author is notified and this paragraph is
included. Please see JollyToad.com
for further articles by George Sranko. Comments are always appreciated. E-mail:
geo@jollytoad.com
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